Winpisinger Center Announces Inaugural Education Conference

The Winpisinger Center is excited to announce the call for the inaugural IAM Education Conference, to be held Sunday, March 26 through Friday, March 31, 2023, at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD.

The conference will provide an opportunity for IAM educators at all levels to learn and share training techniques, materials, and strategies. Local or District educators, members of education committees, and other Local, District, and Grand Lodge leaders who currently provide training or want to expand training in their lodges are encouraged to attend.

The overall goal of the Education Conference is to advance and strengthen the IAM’s long commitment to building power through member education and training.

“When Tom Talbot organized nineteen machinists in that railroad pit in Atlanta, Georgia, he had already envisioned member education as a primary undertaking for the union,” said Winpisinger Director Mary McHugh. “It remains an essential component of our work almost 135 years after our founding.”

Conference topics will include methods and techniques of labor education, organizing, and steward and officer training, among others. Discussions about the labor movement’s role in politics and economic systems are planned to round out the curriculum. The conference will also allow the Winpisinger Center to learn more about the educational goals of the membership so that the curriculum can be refined and expanded to better meet their needs.

“We are developing a peer-to-peer mentorship program for IAM educators and plan to work with a number of organizations outside of the IAM allowing participants to network within the broader labor movement,” said Winpisinger Center Assistant Director Joe Gruber. “I am excited about the opportunities this will provide for the future of member education at the Winpisinger Center and in the field.”

The deadline for registration is January 31, 2023. Questions about the IAM Education Conference should be directed to Assistant Director Joe Gruber (jgruber@iamaw.org). Questions about registering for the program should be directed to Registrar Tracy Woodburn (twoodburn@iamaw.org).